The hunger to love. A Trouble Every Day Blu-ray review

Directed by Claire Denis (Chocolat, Beau Travail) and starring Vincent Gallo (Buffalo ‘66, The Brown Bunny) and Beatrice Dalle (Inside, Betty Blue), Eureka Entertainment’s Masters of Cinema release the erotic French extreme horror Trouble Every Day on the 18th of August.

The Brown’s are on honeymoon in Paris. But husband Shane (Gallo) is not just there for romantic smooching. He has an ulterior motive. Shane is trying to track down a doctor whose work he previously plagiarised, who has now disappeared. Unbeknownst to Shane, the doc is in hiding, caring for his wife (Dalle), who has become a vampire. Shane’s own lust for blood is barely kept under control by experimental drugs. Claire Denis’ incredible Trouble Every Day is an extreme and extremely gut-punching film that takes us on a ride to see if Shane can get the answers he needs before it is too late…

As big fans of vamps, the New French Extreme and Beatrice Dalle, we were very happy to review this one. Would it live up to the hype? How is the transfer? What is the bonus material like? And would Vincent Gallo jerk off? Let’s see.

The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray menus are always a little basic for our taste, but the main menu is to the point and easy to navigate with a nice still from the film that highlights the gorgeous photography we were in store for.

We opted for the 5.1 audio, and although the majority of the film’s soundscape was very front-loaded, during music – and when sh*t gets crazy (sh*t gets crazy lots – the surround was pleasantly loud and room-filling.

The title sequence had us concerned for a moment. With the opening credits all being in Comic Sans. But, thankfully the rest of the film’s surprises were good. And gross. And shocking. And amazing. This is a really special film for fans of horror and the horror-adjacent.

The cinematography is beautiful throughout, and the approach to video encoding is immediately evident. There is lots of lovely grain retention, making the film feel alive, and the restoration has not smoothed over every single little flaw in the film either. Some scratches and very minor damage are left alone, and again, this gives the film lots of life and showcases how much better films shot on film and lit properly look than the majority of modern productions.

Beginning with a variety of seemingly disparate characters, before satisfyingly revealing how everyone fits and smashes together, is very narratively satisfying. Denis’ direction is very controlled and she is also unafraid to hang on something impactful or upsetting for a beat or two longer than you would expect. Or are comfortable with. It’s confrontational. It’s shocking. It’s beautifully done, and it’s exciting. The result is a horny, brainy and bloody must-see where an amazing animalistic Beatrice Dalle chews on the scenery and the cast.

And, yeah, of course, Vincent Gallo jerked off.

The extras package is pretty good. There is a feature-length audio commentary from the excellent Lindsay Hallam, an interview with an expert on New French Extremity, a video essay and a trailer. All of these extras are great themselves, but the lack of anything from or featuring the cast and director can certainly be felt.

Film:

Disc:

Trouble Every Day is released by Eureka Entertainment, as part of the prestigious Masters of Cinema, on both 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and UK Blu-ray, on the 18th of August.